We've listened to the feedback, had a bit of a think about things, and rung a few changes. This year we have a new venue, new workshop leaders, the likelihood of proper salad and puddings, and the same GREAT time singing with loads of blokes!

BlokeFest 2014 is here!! Hoping we have a GREAT weekend of Men.Singing.And Stuff

﻿About ﻿﻿B﻿﻿lokeFest﻿For the THIRD year running on one weekend in June we’re going to sing like blokes, act like men and get to be one of the guys. Our guiding philosophy is that singing is a truly manly activity as long as you sing the right stuff, in the right way, with the right men:

think Shanties not shandiesLumberjack not TimberlakeDiY not R’n'B.

The plan is simple. We're going to meet at a pub in middle Wiltshire with its own Campsite and the weekend unfolds like this . . .

﻿﻿What﻿? ﻿Friday Evening - We're organising a visit to The Crofton Beam Engines, part of Wiltshire’s industrial heritage and one of the oldest working steam engines in the world.
Here, we’ll
enjoy the sight, sounds and smells of the engines as well as the taste of some suitably solid sustenance and Kennet & Avon ales to keep us going.

We're hiring a coach for those who wish to fully partake of their wares. (FYI This might be a few quid extra for partakers).

Then it is back to the pub for some singing, some darts matches, some drinks and bed (at a reasonable time - it's a busy day ahead!).

Saturday - we'll be having numerous singing workshops and learning blokey songs from some well-known singing men (see below) in our BlokeFest Big Top! We'll be hosting a communal evening meal, not forgetting our veggie and gluten-free brethren, and this year there will be proper salad and maybe even puddings! We will then head back to the Big Top where the various men's groups - and anyone else who fancies entertaining us - will entertain the gathered throng with the world famous "BlokeFest Cabaret".

Sunday - We'll have another short Sunday Morning Workshop and then we'll be hiking a couple of miles to have a bit of exercise before returning to the Bruce Arms for a Father's Day lunch where family and friends will be encouraged to join us. On the way we will conduct sonic experiments at lower frequencies, singing songs as we go. We'll return for a final sing and break camp during the afternoon.

﻿﻿Ticket﻿﻿﻿Prices﻿﻿﻿We're not doing this to make a profit, just have fun and cover costs whilst trying to balance raising the standars of stuff, in particular the catering. This is the pricing structure we're working to:

Where? This year we are moving to darkest mid Wiltshire and we
will be camping at and drinking in The Bruce Arms
near Pewsey in the heart of Wiltshire. The Bruce ArmsEaston RoadEaston RoyalPewseyWiltshireSN9 5LRIt’s got a campsite next door and does great food and the beers are not bad either!

The Bruce Arms, nicknamed the Gammon, is situated between the villages of Easton Royal and Milton Lilbourne near Pewsey in Wiltshire. Built between 1848 and 1855 by the Salmonach Estate, which owned many pubs. It came about after the original Coaching Inn, The Gammon of Bacon, situated opposite, burnt down. The only part of the Inn remaining is the water pump - which still works! There is access via foot or cycle to the the glorious Pewsey Vale - Crofton Beam Engines, Wilton Windmill and the Kennet and Avon Canal.The Games Room offers Darts, Pool, Table Tennis, Skittles and even Short Mat Bowls plus of course the space for whatever we want to do and we will have our very own BlokeFest Big Top ! for the workshops and Cabaret.

Community Singer,
Instrumentalist, Composer, Choir Leader and Music Teacher, James is the newest
UK based recruit to the ranks of the Spooky Men’s Chorale (now becoming a
global franchise). When not guiding some of Liverpool’s finest through their GCSEs
and A levels, he directs The Creative Community Choir in the Wirral and his
very own Blokes group - The Bebington
Bitter Men. He performs with Liverpool’s award winning Sense of Sound as
well as The Rough Island Band (he lives in Liverpool, they’re based in the
Scilly Isles - makes sense!) and also writes and performs as a solo artist.
It’s a wonder he’s got time to fit us in! More info at http://www.jamessillsmusic.co.uk

Proud Bristolian
Sam spent 7 years touring with brilliant and famously unsuccessful 'The Moonflowers', best
known for playing naked at Ashton Court Festival, setting fire to their
trousers, & harassing Avon & Somerset Constabulary in large cardboard
fish costumes.
After and eventful musical career including seven years in rural
Normandy, he returned to Bristol and started the Gurt Lush Choir in October
2009, which swiftly grew to the (approx) 300
members it has today and would like to thank Bristol for being an
extraordinarily hospitable singing city, that loves to say 'Yes!' to energetic
music making.
He still claims to be the most
useful wheel-barrow labourer of all Bristol's choir leaders. Check out Gurt
Lush here: http://www.gurtlushchoir.com/

﻿The UK Spooks (aka A Fistful of Spookies) Each time The Spooky Men’s Chorale tour the UK they seem to pick up another Brit or two. Chris Samuel in ‘07, Adrian Mealing in ‘09, Philip Read and Michael Carlyon in ‘11 and James Sills (you already know about him) in ’13. This last means that we now have all the parts covered and have started performing the odd gig together (some very odd!) as ‘A Fistful of Spookies’. We’ll also be leading a session at this year’s Blokefest and as we’re hoping for 80 or more singers this year, we’ll be teaching a Georgian song for two choirs so we can have a Massed Blokefest Sing-off. If you’ve never come across the Spooks – take a look here: http://www.spookymen.com